Union workers from across the United States assembled for the Moral March on Washington held adjacent to the Capitol on Saturday, June 29, where the Rev. William Barber II ignited the crowd by emphasizing minimum wage workers control the crucial swing vote in various states.
“In this time poor people, low-wage workers, religious leaders and moral advocates, we join voices today, hear us America, to declare and commit to protest agitation in street, litigation in the court, legislation in the suite and put forth our massive swing vote in the ballot box,” Barber exclaimed in his opening remarks. “We will take this nation to higher ground.”
His speech broadly touched on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling upholding a decision that allows cities to ban homeless people from sleeping outside.
“We come here today in a moment when meanness is too often the measure of public policy, and it is a way that is far too low down and beneath the vision of ‘one nation under God,’” he said.
The Poor People’s Campaign presented a study that tracked 800 deaths per day due to extreme poverty and revealed 140 million people struggle to survive on low wages.
Many attendees participated in the march with hopes of reaching the ears of elected officials to advocate for a federal minimum wage and stronger labor laws that protect workers.
“I am standing here because right before my trip I was carried out on a stretcher due to heat exhaustion, dizziness, sweating and nausea, only for my boss to tell me she’s been there all day and it’s okay,” said speaker Shae Parker, 23-year Waffle House employee, who works at a location in Columbia, South Carolina. “It’s not okay and it’s not right, it’s not fair. We dealt with heat and safety issues last year at Waffle House. We went on strike and our demands were not met.”
Lawmakers throughout the South and other states are contributing to poor working conditions for blue-collar jobs. On April 11, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) signed off on the legislation, which prohibits local governments from requiring heat and water breaks for outdoor workers.
“This has to stop, if we don’t take action as a whole collectively they are going to keep mistreating us making billions of dollars,” Parker continued. “If you are tired, get with a union, stand together and fight back.”
Groups like the Union of Southern Service Workers, Service Employees International Union and American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) were each in attendance at the march to encourage employees to join forces with them to create a better reality for all American workers.
“We don’t want to live in a big house, we just want to live in a house,” Parker concluded, ensuring listeners that the movement isn’t about generating wealth but enacting people’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
In 93-degree heat, hundreds stood with family, friends and fellow activists for a cause they believe in.
Dacarri Ivy, 30, of Wisconsin brought her young son and nephew to stand with her during the demonstration.
“It’s a lot of sacrifice but it’s a beneficial sacrifice. They saw what it took for us to come here and I’m happy they could be a part of it. Hopefully it makes them want to be a part of a bigger purpose when they get older,” said Ivy, who has worked numerous minimum-wage jobs.
According to a Brookings report, 53 million Americans ages 18 to 64—44% of all workers—earn low hourly wages, with median hourly earnings at $10.22. For those working full-time, year-round, the median annual earnings are about $24,000.
“As a mom, it’s just something you accept because there’s nothing else available and it doesn’t make it okay but it’s income. You don’t have a say, you just take it because it’s available,” Ivy continued. “I’m hoping politicians hear us clearly and really enforce changes. How many marches is it going to take for change to happen, for people to be treated equally?”
Labor Statistics Improving, More Work to End Mass Poverty
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the percentage of hourly-paid workers earning the prevailing federal minimum wage or less declined from 1.9% in 2019 to 1.5% in 2020 after the pandemic hit. The number remains well below the percentage of 13.4% recorded in 1979, when data was first collected on a regular basis.
The U.S. Treasury cited that Congress allocates over half of the discretionary budget toward national defense. During Barber’s address to attendees, he argued that some of this money should go towards universal healthcare for all, housing and other human services.
“No one should be struggling, no one should be homeless, no one should go without healthcare,” Ivy insisted.
The Poor People’s campaign referenced their 17-point agenda which urges policies like social welfare, publicly funded education and environmental justice advocacy as reasonable steps towards ending mass poverty.
Young protestors like Christopher Bazile, 28, said attending the march helped him learn a lot about the current state of America.
“I wanted to get some exposure and knowledge on what Congress is doing,” said Bazile, who works as a mental health specialist. “After coming here, I think there’s more stuff that needs to be done, we have to be proactive.”